A Runner’s Reflection: Why Do I Keep Running? – Chase Ottawa

A Runner’s Reflection: Why Do I Keep Running?

Snehith Kumbla

 

Truth or dare?

 

Truth.

 

I am an extremely lazy person. I have waded through life and yielded my best years, passions, and dreams into the sacrificial bonfire of lethargy. In an inert-laden, static life, it has taken a series of dramatic life-disrupting events to eventually pursue what I actually love doing.

 

Wakeup call

One such drastic turn occurred in the winter of 2019. An occupation-related crisis led me to seek solace in an activity that I have since pursued and abandoned many times over the last five years – Running half marathons. My bad. Let me rephrase that – Completing half marathons.

In many ways, running solo is not as leisurely as indulging in an intense game of badminton, football, or volleyball. It barely rivals the exhilarating, social, ‘with-friends’ experience of mountain hiking, camping, lake or river swimming.

One simple act

Cutting to the chase, my life has altered due to one simple act – sleeping early, waking early.

Lately, I prepare to sleep by 2230 or 2300 hours. I end up waking at 0500 hours. By the end of the two-three-hour subsequent running session, I am set to go through the day with a more clear-minded and calmer perspective.

Where to run?

In a chaotic, polluted Indian city like Pune, where one runs is an important decision.

Tranquillity and close proximity to nature are mandatory for my running venues. The run becomes a deep, immersive act then, not just a mere workout, but a body-mind experience.

I choose to run on earth, open-spaced surfaces, and if road running, always prefer a route under trees, far, far away from traffic as geographically possible. Also, I prefer starting way after sunrise during Pune winters, because of the pre-dawn smog, that especially weighs under trees, before sunlight seeps through.

Shoes and soles

Choosing a sturdy, durable, light pair of running shoes is another important aspect. Also, quality options are now available for protective soles and running socks, that help avoid blisters.

The cell phone pandemic

Why do I avoid carrying my so-called ‘smartphone’ to any of my runs?

The cell phone is a killjoy and clearly, as a supposedly advanced species, we are mentally-physically disintegrating in alarming numbers due to an undeclared pandemic – Smartphone addiction.

Consistency is underrated

I ran my fastest half marathon yet at 2:18:01 in November 2022, 31 minutes faster than my October 2022 half marathon timings. I never planned to run faster. Persistence did it.

My sole 2024 half marathon timings of 2:38:39 was because, I had taken a break from running and had to regain my rhythm again.

Confession: Such have been the heights of my laziness, that despite having run 10 half marathons in five years, I cannot yet claim to have meticulously prepared for any one of them.

The road ahead

I will be running an 11th Half Marathon in February 2025. It is November-end 2024 at the time of writing. If and when I do start preparing for it will be another story to tell. Either that or slumber, eternal. Story of life.

Yet, what I have discovered incidentally in showing up to each of these half-marathons, and in haphazardly preparing, not preparing for each one of them, is – That the mere act of running, day after day, month after month, in complete awareness can be life-affirming. That in that moment, and every other moment that follows, one is inevitably alive.

^^ 

 

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